Locomotive stoker



N. M. LOWER Sept. 29, 1931.

LOCOMOTIVE STOKER Filed July 18, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 5 l 1 Ill.

N. M. LOWER Sept 29, 1931.

LOCOMOTIVE STOKER Filed July 18, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 N. M. LOWER Sept.29, 1931.

LOCOMOTIVE STOKER Filed July 18, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Sept.29, 1931 UNITED STATES.

PATENT f OFFICE- iu'rmiv M. LOWER, or rrrrsnunen, PENNSYLVANIA,ASSIGNOR, BY .MESNE ASSIGN- umrs, 'ro THE summer 'IION or DELAWARE TOKERCOMPANY INC., OF NEW YORK, N. 'Y., COBPORLA-.

moomo'rrvn sroxnn Application filed July 18, 1927. sem No. 200,701.

The invention, relates to locomotive stokers i of the type whereinconveyors carry the fuel from the tender and raise it to a suitableelevation for scattering over the grates, and

g has for its principal objects to simplify the structure, to reduce thenumber of parts, and to provide a light, small organization that can bereadily applied to locomotives both new and old and will meet therequirements of locomotive service.

Further objects and advantages of the invent-ion will appear fromthedescriptlon read in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich vFig. 1 is an elevation of a portion of the backhead with the stokerapplied thereto, the

Fig. 7 is a detail, partly in elevation and partly in section, of astructure appearing in Fig. 3.

The backhead of the locomotive, generally indicated by 10 in Fig. 1. ismade up of the back sheet 11 (Figs. 2 and 3) ,thefront sheet 12, and themud ring 13. As indicated in- Fig. 2,- this backhead frequently inclinesfor-' wardly and upwardly.

The grates are generally indicated at 14,

I and the firing opening is shown at 15 as being formed by flanges 16and 17 of the sheets 11 and 12 overlapped and secured together at 18.One side wall of the cab is indicated at 19 in Fig. 2 and'a deck isshown in that figure at 20.

The stoker, generally speaking, is compose of a transfer conveyor Awhich serves to bring the fuel from the tender substantially along thecenter line and then carry it forwardly and laterally through anextension B on the locomotive to an upwardly directed elevator conveyor0, which delivers'the fuel to a swinging chute D and which 'chutein turndelivers the fuel onto 'a firing plate from whence it is blown over thegrates by a steam blast issuing from the box F. j

The transfer conveyor, or what may be termed the tender unit, may be ofany particular form desired and is here illustrated as comprising acasing 21 within which is rotatably mounted a screw 22. In the preferredform this conveyor lies along the center line of the locomotive andtender, and'reaches the locomotive below the deck 20.

The elevator G includes an extension 24 on the intermediate conduit Bwhich forms its base, a central section 25, and a remova le curvedportion 26, which latter may inclu e the spout 27 from which coal isdelivered to the chute D. The straight portion of the elevator C is setofl at one side of and is parallel with the vertical center line of thelocomotive. It also extends upwardly alongthe backhead and issubstantially parallel with it so as to occupy the amount of space inthe cab.-

W'ithin this straight portion there is mounted an elevating screw 28,the lower end of.

which has a shaft 29 extending therefrom and upon which a bevel gear 30is secured. Another gear 31, suitably mounted in the gear casing 32,meshes with the gear 30, and motion is imparted to the gears for drivingthe elevator through the universal joint 33 by any desirable means.

The central section 25 and the curved portion 26 ofthe elevator are heldin place by bolts 34 and studs 35 in order that they may be readilyremovable when it dismount the elevator screw.-

The box 36 substantially rectangularin form and open at its front side,forms the .is desired to upper portion of the stoker casing, and isprovided at its rear side with an opening 37 corresponding to the firingopening 15, and

adapted to be closed by the conventional or anv preferred form of firedoor. a

The chute D is mounted upon the shaft 38,

journaled in the box 36 near its upper left hand corner portion 39. Byoscillating the shaft 38, the chute D may be made to swing shower overthe grates. This oscillation may be accomplished in .a variety of ways.As shown, the arm 40, loosely mounted on the shaft 38, is connected witha link' 41 operated by abell crank 42 which, in turn, is operated by arod 43 connected to a crank 44, driven by a gear 45 mounted in thecasing 32 and meshing with the gear 30. Integral with the arm 40 is anotched segment 46 adapted to receive-a latch 47 carried b an arm 48fitted to the shaft 38. The latch 4; has two arms 49 and 50, the lattercooperating with the segment 46 and the former 00- operating with thefixed segment 51, or a notch on the side of the box 36.

By this means the chute may be connected with the rocking mechanism toswing back and forth and direct the stream of coal on the grate, or itmay be set in a selected position to direct the stream of coal to oneside or the other, or -the intermediate portion of the fire box, or itmay be set as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, entirely above thefiring opening and out of the way of the fireman in hand firing. F

The left side of the chute D is provided with an upward extension Dwhich will receive the coal from the spout 27 when the chute is in aposition todeliver coal to the right portion of the distributing plate.

The spout 27 may be in one piece with the section 26 of the elevatorcasing, on it ma be welded to the wall of the box 36.

The'extensiontransfer conduit B is preferably a casting and forms thebase of what may be termedthelocomotive unit. On its forward side (Fig.3), it is secured to a bracket 53 which, in turn, is secured to the ibackhead, or other suitable part of thelocomotive.

At its rear side the base Bhas an opening toreceive fuel from the tenderunit A, to

which it is connected by a suitable universal joint, generally indicatedby23.

One wall 54 (Fig. 4) of the unit B is substantially straight in verticalsection, and extends forwardly and laterally from the right side of thetender unit curving sufliciently gently to facilitate the passage of'thefuel and then curves rearwardly into the semi-cylindrical portion 55 andthen returns to the left side ofthe transfer, conveyor.

The semi-cylindrical portion 55 forms the lower left side of theelevator casing. The

transfer screw 22 terminates a sufiicient distance from the wall 54 toprevent compacting the fuel against that wall. The pressure of thescrew, however, moves the fuel forwardly and laterally through theintermediate conduit and delivers it directly against the elevatingscrew 28 at which time the fuel is moving substantially at right anglesto the direction in which it is to e elevated. Thus, the fuel reachesthe elevating screw with sufficient pressure to permit the screw to workin the most efficient manner and to prevent the fuel from rotating withthe screw and not rising.

The construction here disclosed permits the conveyor A to be locatedsubstantlally at the center line while the elevator is offset laterallyfrom that line, and yet only a single universal connection will permitthe necessary flexibility.

The extension conduit B can generally be located entirely below the deckof the locomotive. and hence will. not intrude upon the limited space inthe cab. This conduit, being short and having little or no upwardinclination, offers a minimum of resistance to the travel of the fuel,and its presence permits the bend at the u per end of the elevator(where a change of direction of the travel of the fuelpresents moredifiiculty) to be materially reduced.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. 5

and 6, the transfer coveyor A is shortened base of the locomotive unit.Preferably the elbow 61 is inclined downwardly toward its c, deliveryend as shown in Fig. 6, thereby facilitating the movement of the fuel.

These two constructions will serve to illustrate the fundamentalorganization which may be embodied in a variety of other forms and yetpreserve the substance of the invention. s o

Although in both they forms illustrated, the extension of the transferconduit is shown as being in the base of the locomotive unit, it is, inreality, a part of the transfer mechanism as distinguished from theelevator mechanism.

I claim as my invention:

1. Ina stoker for use with a locomotive including a cab, a deck, and abackhead having a firing o ening leading into the fire box, and a tenderehind the locomotive, the combination of an elevator located adjacent tothe backhead and at one side of and parallel with the centrallongitudinal vertical plane of the locomotive, its lower end beingextended laterally and curving backward in a substantially horizontalplane to such central plane, and a transfer conduit carried by thetender and universally jointed to the elevator extension.

2. In a stoker for use with a locomotive, including a backhead having afiring opening leading into the firebox, a tender behind the locomotive,the combination of a transfer the locomotive, and located substantiallyalong the center line thereof, a sole elevator conduit spaced laterallyat one side of the transfer conveyor for delivering fuel to a pointadjacent the firing opening, distributing means receiving fuel from saidelevator conduit for delivering it to the fire through said firingopening, an elevator screw in the elevator conduit and a connectingconduit curvin laterally in a substantially horizontal

